Simple Pleasures

It was just Milo and me this weekend, so we had lots of fun gardening and doing some cooking. Between the holdovers and new sprouts in the garden and the various wild edibles popping up all over, we’ve been eating big bowls of leaves every day for a week now. It’s wonderful.

In related news, trout season has begun, and our neighbor brought over a couple of beautiful rainbows for us. Milo loves whole fish- much more than anonymous fillets- so he looked on excitedly while I chopped herbs and garlic and wrapped them and one of the fish (and a pat of butter) in parchment and tossed it in the oven. Next I simmered some Israeli couscous, strained it, and tossed it with peas, olive oil, and salt.

When the fish was done, we pulled it out and unwrapped it, releasing fragrant steam and getting our appetites fully engaged. Gently filleted fish, with juices, atop the white and green spheres of couscous and peas, and tender, perfect greens on the side made for the first truly spring meal we’ve had this year. To underscore the event, the season’s first bottle of rosé: a 2007 Caves de L’Angevine Rosé d’Anjou. It made me smile, not least because it’s only 10.5% alcohol. After such a long winter, Milo and I were both delighted to spend a couple of leisurely days indulging in the basic joys of sun, garden, food, and leaving the toilet seat up.